Street collection conveyor mail box



Aug. 18, 1959 P. w. BAILEY STREET COLLECTION CONVEYOR MAIL BOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 14, 1958 Hutu 140322. ufihm $212 vam INVENTOR ATTORNEY Aug. 18, 1959 P. w. BAILEY STREET COLLECTION CONVEYOR MAIL BOX Filed July 14, i958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR P404 W. BA/LEY ATTORNEY STREET COLLECTION CONVEYOR MAIL BOX Paul W. Bailey, Oakland, Calif. Application July 14, 1958, Serial No. 748,251 1 Claim. (Cl. 186-1) This invention relates to an improved street collection mail box, and it particularly relates to a mail box which can receive mail at street level in the ordinary manner and from whence the mail can then be delivered directly into the post office without removing it from the collection box.

Heretofore, it has been the general procedure to provide mail drop boxes at designated places on the street and especially adjacent the postoffice itself. In order to remove the mail from these mail drop boxes, the postal worker must go from box to box, open the box, remove the mail, place it in a bag, re-lock the box and take the bag to the next box to repeat the procedure. Even where the box is close to the post ofiice, it is necessary to go through this procedure before taking the mail into the post ofiice. This is time-consuming and wasteful and greatly increases the difiiculties and costs, especially in inclement weather.

It is one object of the present invention to overcome the above difiiculties by providing a mail-pickup system which is rapid and automatic and which is entirely free from the effects of the weather.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mail-pickup system which will result in great savings in time, labor and money and which is of relatively simple construction and easily maintained.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improved mail pickup system, of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly efiicient in operation.

With the above and related objectsin view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat schematic sectional view of a mail-pickup system embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the collection box on the street end of the system.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the delively box assembly at the post ofiice end of the system.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings wherein similar characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a mail collection box 10 on a street or sidewalk 12 underneath which is a delivery tube 14 through which runs the conveyor belt 16 carrying the receptacle 18 having rollers 19 moving over rails 20. The conveyor belt 16 attached to the receptacle 18 at 17, canries it up into a delivery box 22 within a designated room in the post oflice to which the mail is to be delivered for processing.

The collection box 10 is anchored to the sidewalk 12 by means of steel hooks or the like shown at 24. These nited States atent hooks 24 are connected to a bottom skirt 26 on the box 10 and are embedded within the cement of the sidewalk. At its upper end, the box 10 is provided with 'an arcuate wall 28 from which extends a spout 30 provided with an inclined bottom wall 32 serving as a chute.

The spout 30 has an open front end adapted, to be closed by a closure plate 34. The closure plate 34 is positioned at the inwardly and downwardly-inclined mouth 36 of the spout 30, being hinged to the lower edge of the mouth 36 by a hinge 38.

Adjacent its upper edge, the closure plate 34 is provided with a handle 40 while adjacent its hinge there is connected a rod 42 carrying a counterweight 44. A stop 46 depends from the inner surface of the upper wall of the spout 30 in a position to hold the closure plate 34 in closed, upright position. By this construction, the closure plate 34 is normally held in closed position by the counterweight 44 on rod 42 and stop 46 but can be pulled into open position by means of. handle 40. When handle 40 is released, the closure plate 34 is automatically moved back into closed position by rod 42 and counterweight 44.

Within the mail collection box 10, just under the spout 30, there are provided downwardly and inwardly inclined wall surfaces 48. At the lower edges of these wall surfaces 48 are hinged, as at 50, a pair of closure plates 52. These closure plates or doors 52 are trap doors which, when in horizontal position, close against each other in edge-to-edge contact (as shown in full line in Fig. 4) while they open downwardly (as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 4).

The doors 52 are provided on their undersurfaces, adjacent their inner edges, with downwardly-extending rods 54, each having an abutment knob 56 on its lower end. These knobs. 56 bear against corresponding trap doors 58 hinged at 60 to the upper peripheral flange 62 of the receptacle 18. By this construction, when the receptacle 18 is in the position shown in Fig. 4, the trap doors 52 and 58 open simultaneously because of the rods 54 and knobs 56. However, the hinges 60 are provided with torsion springs 64 which bias the doors 58 into their closed position so that when the doors 52 move back into their closed position or when the receptacle 18 moves away from the position shown in Fig. 4, the doors 58 close automatically.

The receptacle 18 isprovided with a side door 66 hinged to the receptacle at 68 and held in closed and locked position by a key-operated latch means 70. The receptacle 18 is mounted on the conveyor 16 for movement between box 10 and box 22 in the post oflice; the latch '70 being closed while the receptacle 18 is in box 10 and being openable by the clerk in the post o ifice who is supplied with a key with which he can open the door 66 when it is in box 22.

The box 22 is somewhat similar to box 10 in that it has an open bottom mating with an open passage leading from the delivery tube 14 and through which the conveyor belt 16 extends. The box 22 is provided with a skirt 72 surrounding its bottom opening, and this: skirt is secured to the floor 74 by hooks 76 similar to hooks 24. The box 22 is provided with an opening having a door 78 hinged to the box 22 at 80 and closed by a latch means 82. Opening of door 78 permits access to door 66 when receptacle 18 is inside the box 22, as shown in Fig. 6.

The conveyor belt 16 is operated by a reversible motor 84 in the upper portion of box 22, this motor 84 having a sprocket 86 on its motor shaft. The sprocket 86 meshes with a gear 88 on a shaft 90 on which is also mounted a pulley 92 for the conveyor belt 16, the other guide prulleys for the belt 16 being shown at 93. The

motor 84 is controlled through a switch box 94 in box 22; the switch box 94 being connected to motor 84 through electrical cable 96. The switch box 94 is also connected through cable 98 to a plunger switch 100 in box 22 as well as to a plunger switch 102'in box through electrical wires, not shown. A button switch 104 on switch box 94 may be pressed to rotate the motor 84 in one direction and a button switch 106 is used to rotate the motor 84 in the opposite direction. The receptacle 18 is provided with a lateral contact arm 108. When the receptacle 18 reaches the position of Fig. 4, the contact arm 108 abuts the plunger switch 102 to stop the motor 84 while, when the receptacle reaches the position of Fig. 6, the abutment of contact arm 108 against plunger switch switch'100 also stops motor 84.

The switch box 94 is also provided with a third button switch 110. This switch 110 is connected by appropriate electrical wiring (not shown) to a solenoid 112 in the upper portion of box 10. This solenoid 112 can be actuated by switch 110 to pull up and hold the doors 52 in closed position. When deactivated, the doors 52 drop into the open position by their own weight.

In use, the receptacle 18 is in box 10 with the trap doors 52 and 58 in the open position. In this position, any mail dropped down chute wall 32 falls into receptacle 18. When the receptacle 18 is full, the clerk in the post office presses button 110 to actuate solenoid 112 to close doors 52. The clerk then presses button 104 which starts motor 84 operating in a direction to move conveyor 16 to bring receptacle 18 from box 10 to box 22. When receptacle 18 reaches box 22, contact arm 108 acts through plunger switch 100 to stop the motor 84. Then the clerk opens door 78, reaches in to open door 66 and takes out the mail. Meanwhile any mail thrown down the chute 32 is held and piled up on closed doors 52.

After the clerk has removed the mail and re-closed the doors 78 and 66, he presses button 106 to operate the motor 84 to move the receptacle 18 back into box 10. When the receptacle 18 reaches its position in box 10, the contact arm 108 actuates plunger switch 102 to stop the motor 84. I

The solenoid 112, in addition to being activated by button switch 110 may be deactivated by either this button 110 or a similar button switch (not shown). It may also be deactivated by contact between contact arm 108 and plunger switch 102. In other words, the sWitch'102 may be electrically connected to solenoid 112 in such manner that when contact arm 108 abuts plunger switch 102, it not only stops operation of motor 84 but also deactivates r 4 solenoid 112 so that the doors 52 automatically open, and simultaneously push open the doors 58 upon movement of receptacle 18 into position within box 10 (as shown in Fig. 4).

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and described the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

A mail-pickup system comprising a collection box, a tunnel connecting said collection box to a delivery station, a delivery box at said delivery station, said collection box and said delivery box each having an open bottom, said tunnel being connected to each open bottom, a conveyor positioned between said collection box and said delivery box, and extending through said tunnel and into both of said collection and delivery boxes, at least one receptacle on said conveyor said receptacle being movable by said conveyor from a position within said collection box to a position in said delivery box, reversible means to drive said conveyor, said receptacle having a side opening with a closure door thereon, said delivery box having a delivery opening therein with which said closure door is adapted to be aligned when said receptacle is positioned within said delivery box, said receptacle having an open top, hinged door means on said receptacle adapted to close said open top resilient means biasing said door into closed position, an opening in said collection box, closure means adapted to close said opening, said opening forming the upper end of a chute, the lower end of the chute being arranged above the top of said receptacle when said receptacle is in said collection box, means operativel'y connecting said closure means and said hinged door means for simultaneous opening and closing, means normally biasing said closure means to closed position, a solenoid operatively connected to said closure means, and means actuating said solenoid to move said closure means and hence said hinged door means to open position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 14,215 A France Oct. 5, 1911 

